The present invention relates to shelf-stable food packaging and more particularly to such packaging that is especially adapted for housing microwavable packaged meal kits.
Since the development of the microwave oven, there has been a continuing consumer desire for microwave-ready packaged meal kits. However, consumers desire meal kits that are convenient to use, are cooked evenly by the microwave, and taste like homemade food. Consumers additionally desire the meal kits to be efficient and economic in use. If such packaged meal kits are shelf-stable (i.e., can be stored under ambient temperature conditions and do not require refrigeration and/or freezing for storage), then both consumers and retailers are pleased.
Retailers prefer packaging that can be placed on existing shelves and do not require special handling from bulk shipping on pallets to final stocking of the items on the store shelf. Too, the packaging must remain intact during handling at the store and at home by the consumer. Storage of the packaging by the consumer is yet another criteria to which the packing designer must respond. The manufacturer desires packaging that attracts consumer attention by readily presenting product information in a relatively large, colorful display area. When the manufacturer is successful in its product packaging design, so too will be the retailers because consumers will purchase the item. Sometimes the packaging designer will be forced to compromise between cost effective packaging and packaging that presents the product in a favorable light, such as by presenting a relatively large label area with interest-provoking impact and insight into the meal contents to stimulate appeal. When the packaging designer has succeeded in his endeavor, the sales will please both the manufacturer and the retailer.
In this regard, prior designs include U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,263 which proposes a food package that includes an open-top tray surmounted by a paperboard sleeve wherein a rigid leg extends from the back of the sleeve so that the package stands upright on a store shelf. U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,402 proposes a similarly designed package wherein the sleeve and/or a clear plastic film is adhesively secured to a flange that the tray opening bears.
In the field of pasta meals, it would be advantageous to produce a prepackaged pasta meal having the above-described packaging advantages, while offering a convenient pasta meal that has desirable organoleptic properties. In the past, shelf-stable pasta for consumer use has been limited to packaging in glass jars which contain both the sauce and condiments, if any, mixed therewith. This method of storage fails to maintain the organoleptic properties of the pasta over time. The use of glass jars requires extra handling precaution by the retailer as well as the consumer. Typical pasta in a jar also is not meant to be heated by the consumer in a microwave.
Accordingly, there are several concomitant challenges to be overcome and benefits to be gained in designing and manufacturing meal kit packaging that is acceptable to both consumers and retailers alike. Such advantages, however, are not limited to the housing of pasta by the meal kits, but extend to a variety of other foods as well.